XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2007-11-04 SVN rev10675 build - T3CH

Posted By: wraggster

via xboxscene

This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.

Special Notes and Added/Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* added: extended the xbmchttp output slightly

Official T3CH Site: http://t3ch.yi.se

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

Portable Game & Media Player - Another Homebrew Contender ?

Posted By: wraggster

We here at DCEmu try to inform you on what may or may not be the latest consoles/gadgets that will be home to a new homebrew community. Recently we have written about the JXD301, Apple iPhone/iTouch and the as yet unamed Console from the GBAx Camp.

Well down to buisness, the Portable Game & Media Player from SuccessHK has been out a few months now but at a price of $109 and boasting NES, SNES & MD/SMC Emulation it sure is very interesting

Heres the ful spec/info:

Portable Game & Media Player integrates such functions as watching Movie, enjoying Music, Playing GAMES , Reading novels, sound Recording, browsing Pictures and Take pictures. Feature : Game Player : Game Emulator support NES, SNES & MD/SMC ( Sega 16bit ), You can run thousands of game which you can download from Internet Movie Player : Support AVI of MPEG-4 format ( DIVX 3.11/4.X/5.X and XVID codec : Sizes : 320*240 @ 30 fps ) Music Player : Support MP3, WMA, FLAC , with Equlizer Camera : Digital Camera Function with 1300K pixel Video Recorder : Record in 320*240 MPEG4 Voice Recorder : Voice Recorde in MP3 format in 128,192 and 256KPS E-Book Reader : Support E-Book in TXT format Picture Viewer : Support JPG, GIF , BMP format Build-in 1G memory, Support Max. 4G external SD card. Build-in Litum Rechargable battery wth 12000mah , Continue Video play for 6 hrs, or Music play for 20 hrs. With Auto Shut down, Firmware upgradable, 3.6" screen size ( 960*240) TFT , Theme Select, Multi Language support ( English, French, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese ) , Wallpaper changable ,

Can this be opened up to homebrew ?, has anyone already done it ? all questions we would like to know the answer of.

Do the consoles above interest you or are you sticking with your PSP/DS/GP2X for your handheld thrills ?

Portable Game & Media Player

21 comments - Last Comment By JKKDARK

Killing Off the Original Xbox: A Big Microsoft Mistake

Posted By: wraggster

Now Microsoft (MSFT) introduced the Xbox in November 2001 and deliberately brought out their next machine, the 360, just four years later, in November 2005, so as to be first to market with the next generation. They kept the two models as a range for just one year, killing off the original Xbox in November 2006 when it was just five years old.

To me it looks like they killed off the original Xbox half way through its life. They could have re-engineered it to make it far cheaper to manufacture (just as Sony did with the PSOne) and kept on selling it for another five years as part of a two product line. They would have sold tens of millions of additional units if the continuing success of the Playstation 2 is anything to go by.

Now imagine the benefits if they has kept the original Xbox alive. It would have given them market presence in the massive developing countries of China and India were lower incomes favor a cheaper machine. It would have brought millions of new people to Xbox live, helping to lock them into buying future generations of Microsoft consoles. And it would have made enormous profits from the continuing sale of the Xbox game back catalogue.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/5361...rosoft-mistake

3 comments - Last Comment By PLZKLLME0080

Zune going easy on the launch, heavy on the ads

Posted By: wraggster

Don't worry, you're not the only one 'round these parts that's wondering where all the fanfare went. Microsoft decided to do up the launch of its new Zunes without all the launch hullabaloo of the first time around, probably hoping the devices will speak for themselves -- which they seem to doing alright at so far. At the same time, the company is throwing three times the advertising dollars at the Zune this year according to the New York Post, to the tune of $27 million. Time will tell if this move pays off for Microsoft. Jason Reindorp, director of marketing for Zune, stated it most clearly: "Our No. 1 business priority this year is we want to be the clear alternative to the iPod."

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/13/z...vy-on-the-ads/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

Microsoft's new Zunes go live

Posted By: wraggster

Nothing new to say about these things that you haven't heard a hundred times already, other than the fact that they've finally graced us with their presence. The Zune 4, Zune 8 and Zune 80 are now available at a wide assortment of online stores, or you can score one from Microsoft directly at the Zune Originals store with custom text and artwork engraving, but it'll mean waiting 5-7 business days for it to ship -- the price remains the same. Unfortunately, if you want an "Original" you're limited to the 4 and 8 at the moment, the Zune 80 will be available custom in December.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/13/m...zunes-go-live/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

Zune 2.0 update is ready for your first generation Zune

Posted By: wraggster

Are you one of the many who snagged an el cheapo, first generation Zune 30GB off of Woot or a big box fire sale? Or -- gasp -- paid full price? Good, the moment you've been waiting for has arrived. All the new features and interface bumps of your second generation peers are just a click away -- as soon as Microsoft finishes updating the Zune site. Our update lasted just a few, pain-free minutes -- peep the results in the gallery below, including shots of the install and new software and side by side screens of Zune 1.0 vs 2.0 software. Oh, hint: the 2.0 (2.1, technically) updated Zune is brownie up on the left. Now scoot kid, and let us know how you fare with yours when you pop on the upgrade.

P.S. -A note in advance about the name of the Zune: this is the same unit we tested at launch last year that gave us such an unbelievable headache and took about four hours to get installed right. Just happens that we never bothered to rename it from "oh god please work". Beggin' your pardon.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/13/z...neration-zune/

1 comments - Last Comment By BrooksyX

MASSIVE Xbox Emulator Release Update

Posted By: wraggster

Hawq let me know on IRC about Xport releasing new versions of all his emulators for the Xbox, heres the news from Xport:

The following emulators have been updated with the most recent feature set
(rewind, slowdown, rumble, better cheat code options, etc, etc)

Note that some of these do not have rewind support enabled for a variety of
reasons. Check the README.TXT files for information specific to each port.

I know that I said that I was going to try and resolve bugs and update cores
to more recent versions, but I don't have nearly as much free time as when
I first started doing ports. I made it through most of them, but the last
dozen or so were taking too long to finish and I really wanted to get these
out the door.

AdamX
ArnoldX
Atari7800X
AtariXLBox
BlissX
BlueMSXBox
Chip8X
Classic99X
DidntXSpectrum
DOSXBox
FCEUltraX
KegsX
MednafenX-Lynx
MednafenX-NES
MednafenX-PCE
MekaX
NeoGenesis
NeoPopX
OdysseyX
PCSXBox
PokemonMiniX
SoftVMUX
SuperVisionX
Vice20X
Vice64X
VicePETX
VirtualBoyX
WinstonX
WinUAEX
WonderswanX
X68000X
XBoyAdvance
Z26X

...and Snes9XBox

I know, I know...but it's not really a finished product. It's something that I threw
together about 3 years ago and have been updating with my current user interface along
the way. Purists will still want to use ZSnexBox. Compatibility is better in ZSnesBox
as well because it's based off of ZSNES and this is based off of Snes9X v1.43. There
is no lightgun support, no mouse support, and rewind support is flaky. All the other
features like save states, cheat code searching, etc, etc are working.


The sources to everything are now up on xbins under emulators/xport_src_new along with
a readme file for (brief) instructions on how to compile. I can't give instructions
on how to make XBox programs in general (that's left as an exercise for the reader)
but I can assure you that I've tested these packages to make sure they compile correctly
under MSVC with the XDK installed. It's all the source - every last bit.

My involvement in the XBox era is winding down. I guess it already has been winding down
for a while. There will probably be a handful of updates in the future and perhaps a new
project or two, but it's possible that this is it for me. I hope others will pick up these
projects and improve them. There's still a lot that can be tweaked/improved.

There's a very good chance that incorporating the new DOSBox core will result in a usable Dynamic
CPU which would give it a very nice speed boost.

Mednafen core might be worth updating, but note that as of v0.8 PCE CD emulation is supposed
to be much more taxing on the CPU. However, it might be worth it to strip out the Wonderswan
core into a separate project since that's supposed to be a better/tweaked version of oswan
(which is the core of WonderswanX). It might make more sense to find the changes in the oswan
portion of Mednafenx and implement them into WonderswanX though. There is also a PCFX core
(probably too taxing for the XBox) and a NGPC core (but the ngpc core is based on neopop
and I don't think much has changed in it - don't know if the emulation is improved at all.)

Atari7800 source is basically a stripped down MESS but all the MESS source files are included
in the package. One should be able to copy the atari7800x source package into another dir
and adjust the project settings to exclude A7800 files and include another machine's files
to make a new port of something else in MESS.

NeoGenesis could be patched to allow for >32MBit games - but this is surprisingly more
work than one might expect because of the memory constraints of the XBox. It
could be done more easily using virtual memory, but then general emulation performance
would suffer. It's doable without VM, but requires more time than I feel like giving -
especially because it's only useful for one or two games.

Many other projects could use core updates like BlissX, BlueMSXBox, etc to improve
compatibility.

Then of course there could be all sorts of new projects using my core as a base.
Potential projects include BBC, Bally Astrocade, Vectrex, Coco, Arcadia, and Sam Coupe
which all have decent open source emulators available for them. They've been on my todo
list for quite a while, but I just haven't found the time for them.

Awesome stuff

4 comments - Last Comment By Eviltaco64

JXD Preorders Being Taken at GP2X Store

Posted By: wraggster

The JXD301 a new console with several Homebrew developers already working on it is now available for preorder at a decent store rather than the like of dodgy ebay traders.

For those who need a reminder heres the specs:

Heres a quick detail of the console:

The JXD 301 has a LTPS TFT (Low Temperature Polysilicon Thin Film Transistor) screen, which allows for better screen performance than most other players. It can also play a large number of audio and video file types, most importantly RM/RMVB, which is growing in use due to is high compression/hi quality ratio, it also allows for FLV playback allowing users to download off sites like You Tube and watch the videos directly on this player. One of the nicest features is its ability to play NES, SNES, SMD, GBC, GBA and Neo Geo games.

Preorder this new Homebrew Console (with emulators already working) at GP2XStore , price $119

4 comments - Last Comment By StormB

Microsoft planning central network for Zune and Xbox

Posted By: wraggster

The Zune and Xbox product brands are ultimately meant to connect to the same network, says Microsoft's J Allard.

In a New York Times technology blog, the Microsoft exec talked about the company's online vision.

"The Zune guys have to run really fast. The Windows Mobile guys are on a two-year release cycle. The Xbox team now needs to focus on cost reduction, distribution and quality process. Everyone is on their own cadence. The one thing that transcends all this is the network as the nexus," he said.

Allard noted that the online services for Xbox, Zune and future products will merge.

"Today we have Xbox live for USD 50 a year. We have Zune Pass at USD 15 a month. We don't have a rationalized premium version yet.

"Fast forward a little bit, and you can image a menu like DirecTV. There is basic, there is enhanced, there is movie pack and NFL Sunday ticket."

Video will definitely be a key part of Microsoft's service.

"What I want to do at E&D [the entertainment and devices division] is build an entertainment service that can connect, that has a screen and buttons and a speaker, so you can watch what you want, where you want, how you want," Allard said.

In his vision, content providers will rely upon Microsoft to handle the technical details and marketing of selling their products, bringing that content to multiple platforms.

"We go in as a platform company and say to ESPN that we can offer preference information so you can curate programs in a way that has never been done before.

"And you don’t have to worry about multiple formats; we do it all for you on the back end. And you can reach all these eyeballs without lifting a finger."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=30732

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2007-11-17 SVN rev10770 build

Posted By: wraggster

via xboxscene

T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev10770) of XboxMediaCenter for Xbox1.
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.

Special Notes and Added/Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* Sorry for the long delay
* AMT updated to rev1696, XBMC Lyrics updated to rev1637, AOL Videos Plugin updated to "a newer one".
* added: label2 support to button controls in python, thanks to Nuka1195.
* added: content type to plugins, thanks to Nuka1195.
* added: repeat time and action to textbox autoscrolling.
* added: proper detection of if stream is on local LAN changed: mplayer now only prefills cache to 5% when file is on HD or local LAN, should allow quick startup even with rather large cache.
* added: filename filtering for tagless music files via advancedsettings.xml. See the online manual for setup details.
* added: "justify" text alignment, and <align> support to textbox.
* added: Enable AutoScroll for Plot & Review accessible from Skin Settings (default disabled)
* added: Autoscroll support to textboxes. Use <autoscroll time="1000" delay="3000">condition_to_scroll</autoscroll>
* added: dvb subtitle support in mpeg-ts streams for dvdplayer added: subtitle delay adjustment support to dvdplayer
* added: Textbox now scrolls smoothly, using <scrolltime> like panels and lists.
* added: buttons for love/hate Last.FM so you can add your favourite tracks to loved or ban them from playing altogether, will appear only when playing Last.FM radio.
* added: last.fm track love now also sets local rating to 5 if the song has been scanned to the database and hasn't been rated yet.
* added: last.fm recently loved and banned to last.fm directory + unlove/unban (contextmenu)
* added: httpapi config command now returns an error message if the webserver is not on
* added: xbmc.lastfm.love built-in, all songs that can be submitted to last.fm can be loved, optional parameter (false) = direct loving without confirmationdialog. added: xbmc.lastfm.ban built-in, only songs that are playing on last.fm radio can be banned, optional parameter (false) = direct banning without confirmationdialog. added: lastfm.radioplaying boolean-condition added: lastfm.canlove boolean-condition added: lastfm.canban boolean-condition
* added: Thumbnail parameter to the WebServer's Config AddBookmark command (using asg's patch)
* added: Plug-in settings, back ported from the linux branch.(Thanks Yuvalt)
* added: dvdplayer now pauses to rebuffer it's full cache if it runs out of buffer during playback.
* added : French version of tvdb scraper (thanks to bilbon0bud)
* added: Top 250 to DialogVideoInfo (this value can change but only as much as the current ratings/votes)

Official T3CH Site: http://t3ch.yi.se

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2007-11-25 SVN rev10840 build - T3CH

Posted By: wraggster

via xboxscene

T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev10840) of XboxMediaCenter for Xbox1.
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.

Special Notes and Added/Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* AMT including it's bundled plugins updated to rev1746
* added: advancesetting playlistretries, to control number of consecutive failed items before aborting playlist. default is 100, set to -1 to never abort.
* added: musicvideos can now scrape online sites, have included an mtv.com scraper (initial support).
* added: Support for strings.xml for skins. id's 31000->32000 are reserved for skin strings. removed: Code support of depreciated format of strings.xml.
* added: httpapi WebServerStatus command
* added: text subtitle support in mkv's to dvdplayer. only plain text, no formatting supported

http://t3ch.yi.se/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster

Zune users complain of fast-draining battery with latest firmware

Posted By: wraggster

We've already had a few reports of some problems with the latest Zunes (and the latest firmware), and it now looks like there's another issue brewing, with a number of users complaining of battery problems with Zune 30s and 80s loaded with the most recent firmware. Apparently, the Zunes have the unfortunate tendency to rapidly drain their batteries, even when the player is not in use. Judging from the discussion on the Zune.net message boards, that particular issue seems to be due to some unknown difficulty the Zune has with entering hibernate mode which it, seemingly, doesn't do at all (at least among those who've reported problems). Those finding themselves plagued by similar battery issues can apparently "fix" the problem by holding back and down on the d-pad to shut the Zune off completely when its not in use, although we're guessing few will be completely satisfied until Microsoft chimes in on the matter.

Update: Zune-Online.com has gotten word of another fix that appears to solve the issue, at least on the Zune 30. To get things started, you'll have to first drain the Zune until you get the exclamation point, and then fully charge it again (leaving it overnight, if necessary). After that's done, you then reset the Zune by pressing up and back simultaneously, which should set things back on track . Not a perfect solution, obviously, but it seems to be the best option for now.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/28/z...atest-firmwar/

0 comments - Last Comment By wraggster